A man shot dead by police threatened family members with a shovel before pouncing on officers with two knives.
Two general service police officers were visiting a home in Yagoona, south-west Sydney on a call to domestic violence just before 9am on Sunday when they were confronted by the man knocking on the door.
NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Stuart Smith confirmed the 29-year-old had previously swung the shovel at members of his household, prompting the call to police, but had switched to knives when police arrived.
He said officers backed away from the door, but the man then pursued them outside and slammed wildly in their direction.
“The junior officer used a taser and it affected the 29-year-old, but he used the knives to disable that device,” he told reporters.
William Street in Yagoona, south-west Sydney, swarmed with police on Sunday after a man with two knives attacked and shot police
The man was taken to hospital in critical condition with wounds to his chest
“The person tried to hit and stab the officer. She lost her footing, she fell backwards. He continued the attack.”
The attacker’s attention was drawn to the male officer, who then fired three shots, hitting the man in the chest.
The two officers then performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
“I can only describe it as a very frightening event for both the police and everyone who witnessed it,” he said.
“[Officials]did not expect to be faced with such a vicious attack.”
The man was taken to Liverpool Hospital in critical condition but later died.
A local resident told the Daily Mail Australia they heard the gunfire, then someone shouted: “You shot my brother! You shot my brother!’.
A large group of men claiming to be relatives of the man were briefly seen arguing with officers as they were prevented from crossing police cordon tape.
It is not known whether anyone in the house was injured.
The family declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
A critical incident team made up of officers from the State Crime Command’s homicide squad will now investigate the circumstances of the incident, including the surrender of a police firearm.
This investigation will be subject to independent verification.
A report is prepared for the coroner.
The incident came just days after a man was shot dead at Auburn police station after lunging at officers with a knife.
The Indian national had just stabbed a cleaner at the nearby Auburn train station around 12 noon on Tuesday.
Officers struggled to save the 32-year-old man’s life, but he was later pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Investigators from the anti-terrorist unit are investigating this stabbing.
